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Rega DAC vs Havana DAC

After reading many impressions/reviews of Rega and Havana DACs, the two seem to have lots of in common. People say they are "analog sounding, they sound earthy and organic, tonally dense, overall "rightness", musicality, good rhythm, not over-detailed".
The main differences I could spot after reading others' impressions (unfortunately I haven't listened to either of the DACs) are that Havana provides more delicate, subtle sound (which as some people claim, might not be aggresive enough for rock music) and Havana has a wide and very deep soundstage (which I consider a big advantage - not sure about the soundstage of Rega DAC..)

Anybody compared Rega to Havana? What are the main sonic differences between the two DACs?

I am considering buying one of them and it is difficult for me to decide which one to choose as I don't have a chance to audition them beforehand. (I'm interested mainly in their sonic abilities. I will use coax input only).

Any help appreciated!
artmindes
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Tubegroover, after reading your and many others people's impressions of Havana, i start to believe there is some magic in its sound. This is very tempting to me to try it out myself. Although sonically both Havana and Rega seems to fit my taste. One thing with Havana that bothers me just a little bit l, is that it cannot play HD files, although if it sounds good i dont really mind that much. Well, i could consider the more expensive successor of Havana, which is Stockholm DAC. However almost no reviews/impressions are available yet. I only heard it sounds more detailed, and i am afraid it may mean more ditigal or it may not have the same magic as Havana...
robbob
273 posts
 
Don't worry. Unless the HD file is mastered differently there's no audible difference between it an a 16 bit file.

Rob
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
I was on the fence about whether to buy the Havana or the Stockholm. I talked to the guys at ALO Audio and they insisted that unless you are playing Hi rez material, that the Havana is the better sounding DAC.

I am still burning in my Havana and waiting on a proper digital cable that arrives tomorrow. I will reserve final judgement until later, but I think it sounds pretty good so far.

Shakey
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Very helpful tips! Thank you Guys.
robbob
273 posts
 
BTW...I had the W4S DAC 2 to compare and I posted the results in the review section. Long story short....We preferred the Rega when connected to the CD player and the W4S had a very small edge via USB. They were very close. The W4S sounded brighter, the Rega had a deeper soundstage.

Rob
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